The objective of the UCSD Respiratory Disease Program (SCOR) is to mount a broad, multidisciplinary attack upon questions relating to the pathogenesis, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of two major pulmonary problems: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Since multiple UCSD Faculty members already were conducting or planning research dealing with COPD or ARDS, a cohesive Program plan has been designed which incorporates and logically extends the current investigative interests of Program participants, deriving strength from their diverse capabilities. While each Responsible Investigator will approach COPD and ARDS from the vantage point of his special expertise, each is devoted to two unifying Program principles: 1) integration of clinical (patient care) and investigative activities promoting maximal bedside-laboratory cross- fertilization; 2) multidisciplinary collaboration in both formulation and pursuit of investigative goals. This integrative philosophy is reflected by the fact that these Projects incorporate co-investigators from Medicine, Surgery, Pathology, Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, Radiology, Obstetrics, Psychiatry, as well as from sub-disciplines within each; (i.e., Nuclear Medicine, Physiology, and Bio-Engineering and Immunopathy). For example, the alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency project involves individuals skilled in clinical chest disease, immunology-biochemistry, physiology, radiology-nuclear medicine, pathology and genetics so that questions of pathogenesis, diagnosis and prevention can be attacked simultaneously. Thus, the Program is much more than a collection of independent investigative proposals. Interdependence has been built in, an arrangement made possible by the common fiscal-administrative base provided by the Program. The broad expertise of the Program participants, the specific structure of the proposal, the philosophic tenets upon which it is based, and the patient and physical resources available all should promote the attainment of the UCSD Programs goals: increased understanding of and ability to deal effectively with COPD and ARDS.